


Healing Despair

by zoranhero



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, Forensics, Friendship, Gen, Implied Relationships, Multi, Murder Mystery, Other, Slow Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-04-30 20:38:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14505024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoranhero/pseuds/zoranhero
Summary: Ingrid Märta Neilson, or Yoshi Takamaru, thinks she is about to attend the elite school known as Hope's Peak Academy as the SHSL Journalist. But one step onto the large campus is followed by a sudden awakening in a place that's far from what she expected. Her, along with fifteen other students, are trapped in a hospital that slowly begins to strip away bits and pieces of their identity. Their only option to get out and regain lost aspects of themselves is by murdering a fellow student and getting away with it."Healing Despair" is a Danganronpa fan game with a cast of sixteen original characters. Only three of them will survive to find out the mystery of why they're there, and which one of them is responsible for the game.





	1. Prologue: Part 1

All I could really recall was taking one step onto that campus. After that, everything else was gone. Not even a blur of memory was left in my mind. It was as if an entire part of my life had been taken from me. In the split moment between then and lifting my head, I may had even forgotten who I was. That’s what made me shoot up in fear.

My name… My talent…

My name is Ingrid Märta Neilson, and I'm the SHSL Journalist. I was going to Hope’s Peak Academy, an elite school for talented teenagers. The best of the best get sent there only. Even though my head was spinning and nothing was in focus, I was so relieved to have remembered that much. But nothing around me was clear. I blinked a few times and felt my face. The fact that my glasses weren’t in their normal spot may have explained a thing or two. Great…

I felt around the floor, squinting at everything that I perceived as them and reaching for them, until I heard a voice above me.

“You just had them. Go to your left.”

I looked up, unable to make out who was talking to me, but I did see a very blurry person in front of me. I reached to my left and picked up the lenses, then put them on my face.

Then everything was clear… Visually. As far as knowing where I was _exactly_ , I was rather clueless. For some reason, I was on the floor of a room with two perfectly good beds. What I assumed to be a window had boards nailed over it. The room wasn't sinister looking in any way, shape or form… But why was I _here_ , of all places?

I was met with someone else standing above me after I was finished examining the room. She was a little smaller than I was and had brown eyes that looked threatening enough alone. Her dark hair was in the shape of a bob and curled around her face, as if framing its round shape. She wore a plain school uniform, but it didn't look like the Hope's Peak one. Just a very generic-looking t-shirt and skirt, matched with knee-high socks and flats.

“Are you going to stay down there and stare?” she asked.

I finally stood up from the ground. Her tone was sharp enough to get me to move. “Sorry,” I replied, “I was confused. Do you know where we are?”

“I do not. Are you another Hope's Peak student?”

Another? Were there others here? “Er… Yes, I am one. Why, are you?”

“Yes. That means we are all students… How strange,” she exhaled.

“So there are others?” I asked. “None of them know?”

“They seem to be as clueless as us,” she explained, “but I did not think to ask. You are the last to awaken. Follow me, I will show you around.”

“Okay.” I began to comply and follow her out, but stopped. “Wait a minute, who are you?”

She paused but didn't turn to face me. “Riho Sonozaki. Super High School Level Iaidoka. And you?” Iaidoka… I'd have to ask her what that was later. I knew it meant she did a form of self defense, but I wasn't familiar with the methods used in it.

“Ingrid Märta Neilson,” I answered. “Journalist. You can call me Yoshi Takamaru, though.”

“I see. Follow me, Takamaru-san.” She continued towards the door and I followed behind her.


	2. Prologue: Part 2

Riho opened the door by sliding the handle downward. It was an odd kind of door, one I hadn’t seen before. Pretty big, too. But that wasn't relevant, anyways. As soon as Riho opened the overwhelmingly large door, she stepped aside, but someone running past our doorway prevented me from getting out.

It was a small, blue hooded figure that rushed by and seemed to have tripped after passing me. From what I could see, they had long black hair and was wearing a large beige dress underneath the cloak.

“Oh gosh, are you okay?” I asked, approaching them. Riho had tried to grab my arm in that moment.

“Takamaru-san-” she whispered, but was cut off too soon.

“Leave us alone!” shouted the small hooded person, standing up. I was suddenly met with angry pink eyes when they turned to face me.

“Uh… Who's “us”?” I blinked, but Riho answered before the other could.

“It took me some time to get any form of identity from this one. All they gave me was “Sphyraena”. I doubt they'd tell you any different.”

I looked back at Sphyraena to see if it was true, but they were silent. Their glare said everything that they were thinking.

“Huh… Sorry about that, Sphyraena-san,” I said with a bow. Sphyraena huffed and continued to run off into a room down the hall, slamming the door shut behind.

“They are stubborn and rude,” said Riho. “There are plenty of others to greet. Follow me.”

I nodded and followed her out of the room, finally. We entered what seemed to be some kind of hospital corridor. There were plenty of doors along the sides with chalkboards outside. They had names written on them, too. Turning around, I checked out the one by our door.

> Ingrid Märta Neilson
> 
> Riho Sonozaki

I guessed that meant Riho was my roomate. Nice! She seemed like she'd be a cool, respectful roommate.

She brought me to a room down the hall which had no names outside of it. Through a small window, I saw a blue light that danced around the inside walls.

“What's this?” I asked.

“Comfort room,” she said, “for those who need to calm down. When I examined earlier, there seemed to be a chair, lava lamps, and a stereo.” She pointed to the ceiling right above the door, “And someone is using it.”

I looked up. There was a small sign that read, "COMFORT ROOM IS IN USE", with a light that was on in front of it. Riho knocked on the door, and it was answered a moment later.

A tall, pale girl with a mask covering her nose and mouth stood shyly behind the door. Her hair was long and brown, ends dyed red, purple, and blue. She wore a white fur coat with a red ribbon around her waist and winter boots. “Yes?” she said, voice muffled a bit.

Riho stepped to the side and guided me to her previous spot. “Hello again, La… Kva… Süren-san. I apologize if I mispronounced your name again.”

The girl rolled her eyes and opened the door further. I could hear J-pop blasting from inside and spotted a disco ball projecting small lights around the room. “It’s _Lkhagvasüren_. Say it with me! Lkha-gva-sü-ren!”

“Please, I'm only showing a friend around,” Riho gestured to me. The girl was now focused on me, and I waved.

“Hi!”

“Hiya there!” she beamed. “You're awfully cute. So you just woke up, huh?”

I could tell my cheeks were getting a little pink, but I don't know how else I'd react to a cute girl calling _me_ cute. “Ah, yeah! My name is Ingrid Märta Neilson. Call me Yoshi Takamaru if that's easier.”

“No need! Ingrid Märta isn't the hardest name I've had to say,” she insisted. “Hope's Peak Academy?”

“Yes! SHSL Journalist.”

“Gotcha! My name’s Oyunchimeg Lkhagvasüren, and I'm _THE_ Super High School Level Karaoke Contestant!”

“ _The_ Oyun-… Oyun…” Her name was hard to pronounce, but I knew her. She won Mongolia’s Got Talent as the youngest contestant, singing karaoke. She got fairly popular worldwide over social media. Anyone into that kind of stuff would at least recognize her name.

“Yep, that's me! O-yun-chi-meg!” she raised a brow at me while I looked confused as ever.

“Sorry, it'll take me some time,” I said with a frown.

“Huh. I guess I'll make an exception for you… But I just have one rule: No nicknames! At least _try_ to call me by my name or don't bother talking to me!”

Yikes.

“I’ll do my best… It was nice meeting you, nonetheless.”

“Nice meeting you, too!” said Oyunchimeg. “Now, I’m gonna head back in this rather comfortable room. Hopefully I’ll see you around.” Before I could say anything more, she went back inside and shut the door.

“She seemed nice,” I said, turning to Riho.

“Hm… Come. We have more students to meet,” she said. I nodded and walked behind her.


	3. Prologue: Part 3

“Hey Riho,” I said, “Do you think there are notebooks around here somewhere? I forgot to look around our room.”

“Yes. Why, do you need one?” she asked, turning around.

“I don’t  _ need _ it, but I like to document things. It makes things easier to remember and stuff like that.”

“I see,” she sighed. “Follow me.”

Riho led me to a normal-sized door with an actual handle. She turned it and opened the door to a larger area. There were several tables with chairs on each side of them, along with a large TV on the wall, a table tennis set, and a piano being played by someone. The walls were lined with closets that each had a black exterior that seemed to be chalkboards. She walked past several students who turned their heads at us, aside from the one playing on the piano. I wonder who they were…

“Good morning,” said one of them to me. She had dark chestnut skin and long, black hair that was coily and messy. Her dress was black and loose and almost all of her body was covered by it. What confused me the most were her hidden eyes, covered by what looked like a thick ribbon tied around her head. I would have thought someone with their eyes covered would have been the last to notice me. “Who may you be?”

“Me?” I looked at Riho, who was going through one of the closets. “My name is Ingrid Märta Neilson, or Yoshi Takamaru. I’m the Super High School Level Journalist.”

“Hmm…” Without another word, she reached out and cupped her hands around my cheeks. Her hands were hot and she used her thumbs to feel around my eyes, nose, and other parts of my face. “I see, I see.”

“You see?” She didn’t seem to be seeing much of anything…

“I’m putting together your face,” she said. “Large glasses. Upturned nose. Eyes like an owl’s. Your hair, it’s very soft and curly.”

“Excuse me?” Riho had returned with a notebook and pen in her hand. She glared daggers at this girl as if she were going to yank her hands off my face. “Are you bothering Takamaru-san, now?”

“It’s okay!” I quickly said. “She’s just trying to figure out what I look like.”

“Correct,” she said. She pulled her hands back and kept them at her sides. “Forgive me, I’m blind. Perhaps I may have stepped over my boundaries…”

“No!” I gave Riho a look while she gave the notebook and pen to me. Why did she have to make the girl feel like that? “You’re fine, you didn’t know. What’s your name, anyways? Oh, and your talent?”

She grinned, “My name is Hiroe Kotobuki. I was invited to Hope’s Peak Academy as the Super High School Level Clairvoyant, if that is what you mean.”

“Kotobuki-san!” I said, relieved to finally know her name. I wrote it down along with the talent, as well as the names and talents I had already learned. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. So… What does a clairvoyant do?”

“I’m what many call a psychic, or a fortune teller. I can see into the future… I have predicted natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. It’s a horrific thing to see, but I warn people.”

“Oh, that’s you?!” Now I knew who she was. I didn’t know her by name, but I have heard some things about a young, blind psychic in Japan… Hopefully I’m thinking of the right person. But how many people would fit that description, anyways? “I think I’ve heard of you now!”

Riho cleared her throat. “Conversations later, Takamaru-san.”

“Right,” I chuckled. “Nice to meet you, Kotobuki-san. Bye!”

“Farewell, Takamaru-san. Please be careful of what lies ahead…”

Riho and I turned away from her to see who else was here. The next person who caught my eye, and the person Riho seemed to be going to next, was a handsome and muscular young man with shoulder-length dull black hair. His skin was light tan and he wore a tank top with black workout shorts, white socks, and red sneakers. His hair was a little on the messy side, three pieces were sticking up from the top of his head. Once Riho got him to turn around, I noticed his sharp eyeliner and piercing glare, but more than anything else, a white eyepatch covering his left eye.

“Takamaru-san,” Riho said, “This is Kudo-san. He does not speak much.”

The young man turned to Riho, then back to me. He spoke up, voice much smaller and weaker than I expected from him. “Tatsuya… Kudo. Super High School… Level… Boxer.”

“Oh, hi, Kudo-san!” I said. “I’m Ingrid Märta Neilson, but you can call me Yoshi Takamaru. I’m the Super High School Level Journalist.”

Tatsuya nodded. He looked back at Riho, who was focused on the remaining two in the room. “Like I said, he is not much of a talker.” She left him for the others, and I waved to him before quickly following behind her.

That felt kind of rude, I thought to myself. Maybe Tatsuya was just shy. Maybe he could open up a bit more later… And maybe I should get used to quicker introductions. While it was still in my mind, I wrote down  _ Tatsuya Kudo - Boxer _ into my notebook.

I looked up to see Riho next to the piano. Around her were two other teenagers, one sitting on the bench, and the other cowering behind them. I moved closer and shut my notebook. The student on the bench was wearing a long sleeved cloak that covered most of their body. Their hair was white and curled to one side while their bangs were black. One of their wide eyes was a light grey, the other red. The other one was on the short side, with thick, long, dreaded black hair pulled back and dark brown skin. Their outfit consisted of black Vans, loose blue jeans, and a white t-shirt with a red lightning bolt on the front. The one on the bench stopped playing and tilted their head to look up at Riho.

“May I help you?” they asked.

“Excuse me, but my roommate has woken up and is now interested in meeting everyone here.” Riho gestured towards me, and I waved.

The two turned around. The one on the bench smiled at me, while the other looked just as terrified as ever.

“Hello there,” said the white-haired one. “My name is Ariel Peralta. This is my dear friend, Dusty. I’m a film noir actor. Dusty is a music video dancer.”

“Hi, Peralta-san and Dusty-san! It’s nice to meet you guys!” I wrote their names down.

Dusty finally smiled. “Hi…” they said.

“Dusty only speaks Spanish fluently. Don’t worry, I’m teaching them how to speak in other languages,” Ariel said. “They’ll catch up.”

That may have explained a lot. Dusty looked nothing less than confused most of the time, now that I paid close attention. Ariel turned back to the piano and continued to play.

“The music soothes them, I’ve noticed… Well, if you excuse me, I’m going to continue with this.”

“Oh!” I nodded and stepped back, reaching out for Riho. “Let’s go, then.”

“Right.” Riho followed me outside the room. I checked one last time to see if I’d met everyone, and I did.

I shut the notebook up and began down the hall with Riho behind me. She quickly sped up next to me, then stepped in front of me to lead the way to our next destination.


End file.
